SA will turn on digital television towards the end of next month in the remote Karoo area, but analogue will only be turned off in the middle of 2015.
However, the Department of Communications (DOC) has a R7 billion shortfall to fund before migration can be completed. The lack of funding impacts the subsidy of set-top boxes and Sentech's dual-illumination period.
SA is migrating to digital TV using the European DVB-T2 standard, which is more efficient than its predecessor and will improve the viewing experience and free spectrum for more broadband services.
Although the turn on date is little more than a month away, there are still several things needed before launch, including approval of the amended broadcasting digital migration (BDM) policy, amended migration regulations by ICASA, and new content.
SA had previously agreed, along with other Southern African Development Community (SADC) members, to migrate by the end of next year. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) will cease protection of analogue signal in mid-2015.
Shortfall
The DOC's deputy DG of ICT policy development, Themba Phiri, told a recent Labour and Public Enterprises Parliamentary Committee meeting it was very clear the country could not meet the SADC deadline, as there was not enough time to complete the work and there were funding constraints.
However, Phiri said SA would meet the ITU timeframe, as it still had a full three years to wrap up the project. Digital TV will free up spectrum and allow 16 channels per frequency, with better picture quality, he added.
SA's initial self-imposed digital migration timelines were November 2008 to November 2011, which proved to be unrealistic, said Phiri. SA's current commitment, as a member of the ITU, was to complete its digital migration by 17 June 2015, he noted.
Phiri said the DOC needed a total of R7 billion more in funding to address a shortfall to rollout digital TV.
Some R940 million was ring-fenced at the Universal Service and Access Agency SA (USAASA) for this financial year to subsidise decoders. Cabinet set aside R2.45 billion several years ago to subsidise 70% of boxes for about five million houses.
Phiri said USAASA had challenges, but would be able to play its part with the DOC's support. The DOC is filling vacant executive positions in USAASA, which will regain its full functionality within the next few months.
The DOC needs subsidies to the tune of R2.635 billion, over and above the R940 million, said Phiri. Set-top boxes are now expected to cost around R400, instead of the previously estimated R700, he added.
The overall shortfall, including the SABC's technology upgrade and Sentech's dual-illumination requirements, was R7 billion, said Phiri.
Staggered approach
Sentech chairman Thabo Mongake said that, due to the outstanding issues, such as amended regulations, a staggered provincial rollout would be implemented. So far, 60% of the population has DVB-T2 coverage and the aim is to reach 80% by next March.
Sentech's rollout would include eight planned stations for Limpopo, 11 for the Free State, 10 for Mpumalanga, 21 for KwaZulu-Natal, six for the Western Cape, two for the North West, and 10 for the Eastern Cape.
The state signal provider has been transmitting analogue and digital signals since November 2008 and will continue to do so until switch off. It needed an additional R213 million in 2014 and 2015 for dual illumination, said Mongake.
Turn on
DOC technical adviser Roy Kruger said digital TV would be lit up on 26 and 27 September. He said the department had targeted the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) area, in the Northern Cape.
The DOC selected the region to prove DVB-T would work and that frequencies would not interfere with the telescope. The SKA radio telescope project will be shared between SA, Australia and New Zealand.
Kruger says the launch will comprise satellite or direct-to-home around the SKA to prove the SKA signals would not interfere with broadcast signals, and DTT transmission to a township near Kimberley, which currently had the only DTT transmitter in the Northern Cape.
Thousands of jobs
Kruger says the DOC was mandated to create several categories of jobs along with migration. About 23 500 employment opportunities will be opened in total.
In the manufacturing sector, between 800 and 1 000 opportunities will be created, which include more jobs at existing factories and new jobs at new start-up small and medium companies, said Kruger.
Installation and maintenance of decoders would initially establish 3 500 jobs for new installers, said Kruger. There was a list of names with qualifications, which towns they were located, and plans for the training were in place, he said.
In addition, call centres would create a minimum of 2 000 to 3 000 jobs, noted Kruger. The DOC aims to have about 11.4 million houses on the new network, which will require about 6 000 call centre operators. However, Phiri says funding is not guaranteed.
The biggest job creation sector in the project would be in the content sector. Phiri said between eTV and the SABC, there would be around 20 new channels, requiring “tons” of content and creating between 10 000 to 15 000 openings.
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